The Los Angeles Lakers now find themselves in a heap of trouble as they’re down 3-1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first-round series. The Lakers need a mini-miracle to win this series, and here’s a look at the biggest reasons they came up short against the Timberwolves at the Target Center on Sunday.
An Anthony Edwards Masterclass
While the Lakers did a lot wrong in this game, the biggest reason they lost was that Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards took over. Edwards had 43 points (12-23 FG), nine rebounds, six assists, and one block in Game 4. He was great throughout the game, but put in a masterful display in the fourth quarter, in particular.
Edwards had 16 points (4-7 FG), four rebounds, two assists, and one block in the fourth. He nearly had as many points as the Lakers, who could only manage 19 in the period.
The Lakers were so terrified of what Edwards might do in that fourth quarter that they repeatedly sent double teams at him. The three-time All-Star didn’t try to force things when that happened and instead calmly made the right play to ensure the Timberwolves got a great look.
Disaster had seemingly struck for the Timberwolves in the second quarter when Edwards went down holding his knee following a collision with LeBron James. You feared the worst at that point, but the 23-year-old was able not only to carry on but dominate.
The Lakers Falter In The Fourth Quarter Again
The Lakers entered the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead, and they were rolling at that point. They had shot 50.0% from the field in the first three quarters, and the Timberwolves’ defense was struggling to find ways to slow them down. Then came the fourth quarter, where the script was flipped.
The Lakers went 5-18 from the field in the fourth quarter, mustering 19 points in the period. They just could not get going offensively, and part of that might well be down to fatigue. Lakers head coach JJ Redick decided to play James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Rui Hachimura the entire second half.
Those five were running out of gas down the stretch, and that helped the Timberwolves storm back and win the game. While you’d like to give the players a pass here, citing fatigue, the fact is they have faltered repeatedly in the fourth quarter in this series.
The Lakers have been outscored 105-69 in the four fourth quarters. They have a woeful offensive rating of 82.1 in the final period of this series, and that’s unacceptable. The only team with a worse rating than them is the Memphis Grizzlies (81.6), and they just got swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Redick needs to sort out these fourth-quarter woes soon, or their season will end very soon.
An Unreliable Bench
The reason why Redick felt compelled to play James, Doncic, Reaves, Finney-Smith, and Hachimura for the entire second half was that he simply doesn’t have enough trust in the rest of the players. The Lakers just don’t have enough depth, thanks to an unreliable bench, and that puts an even bigger load on those five.
Gabe Vincent is the best option the Lakers have off the bench, apart from Finney-Smith, who is basically a starter (35.1 minutes per game in the series). Vincent played just under 13 minutes in Game 4 and went scoreless. Jordan Goodwin and Jarred Vanderbilt also failed to score a single point, and those four were the only ones who came off the bench.
Finney-Smith’s six points were all the Lakers got from their reserves. The second unit has averaged 12.8 points per game in the playoffs, which ranks second from the bottom.
The Timberwolves, on the other hand, got 25 points from their bench. Their reserves have averaged 28.0 points per game in the playoffs, which is tied for seventh-best. This is just yet another area where the Timberwolves have had the edge over the Lakers.
The Lack Of A Starting-Caliber Big Man
The biggest issue for the Lakers following the Doncic trade was the lack of a starting-caliber big man. They knew that as well, which was why they traded for Mark Williams. They later rescinded the trade, though, due to concerns regarding Williams’ health, which meant Jaxson Hayes was the best big man on the team.
That wasn’t ideal, but the Lakers still had success in the regular season with 50 wins. You wondered if they’d get away with not having a starting-caliber big man in the playoffs as well, but that hasn’t been the case.
Hayes is averaging 7.8 minutes per game in this series, with the Lakers deciding to go small. While that has its advantages, there are limitations to it as well, and the Timberwolves once again exploited them in Game 4.
The Timberwolves won the rebounding battle 49-41 and hauled in 18 offensive rebounds compared to 11 for the Lakers. Thanks, in large part, to that, the hosts ended up with 10 more shot attempts than the visitors. In a game decided by three points, that is huge.
The Timberwolves also outscored the Lakers 48-30 in the paint. The lack of a proper rim protector is really hurting the Lakers in this series, and that’s not going to change moving forward.
The Timberwolves Feasted On The Lakers’ Turnovers
The Lakers had trouble holding on to the ball in Game 3, but that wasn’t necessarily the case here. They had 12 turnovers compared to nine for the Timberwolves, but there was a significant difference when it came to how the teams managed to capitalize on those mistakes.
The Lakers only managed to get five points off those turnovers while the Timberwolves got 19. Their transition defense simply wasn’t good enough, and they paid the price for it.
In all, one too many things went wrong for the Lakers here, but they still nearly came away with the win. While you’d love to take that as a positive, the loss has put them on the brink of elimination. They now have to play near-perfect basketball for three games in a row to advance, and that doesn’t seem very likely.
Game 5 will be played at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday at 10 PM ET.
